MUMBAI: Two lawyers who were meeting up with their clients at a property in Dahisar (west) were brutally attacked with swords and rods by a group of about 20 people in broad daylight around 3 pm on Sunday. A probe suggests that the motive of the attack was a dispute over the ownership rights of the land. Three people have been arrested by officials of MHB Colony police station after video clips of the assault went viral.
Advocate Satyadev Joshi was to meet his client Tauqir Khan and developer Divyesh Desai at Kandarpada along with Desai’s lawyer, Ankit Tandon. Khan and Desai plan to construct a school building on a 4,500 sqm plot at Kandarpada. Khan had purchased the plot in the ’80s from one Deubaee Thakur. But Thakur’s relatives have also claimed ownership of the plot.
“A mob of 15 to 20 men and women landed up. A heated argument broke out as they tried to remove a signboard from the property,” Joshi said. Things took a turn when the group started bringing out swords, rods and sticks from autorickshaws.
Joshi said he stood behind a car as he was neither acquainted with the group nor was personally involved in the dispute. “But the group still came after me,” added Joshi.
“We were hospitalised and I had to be administered stitches on my fingers and legs, besides being treated for serious cuts on my back, head, hand and shoulder. Tandon is unable to open one of his eyes after being struck,” said Joshi.
In his police statement, Desai named 11 people including Thakur’s relatives and two builders with whom a dispute is on.
A case of attempt to commit murder and rioting has been registered, said additional commissioner of police Dilip Sawant. However, identities of the arrested were not revealed.
